Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Two Months In

This is Jon back with you, but hopefully I can talk Brenda into taking over before I finish. Today marks the two month anniversary (although that really doesn't seem like right word to use) of the stroke. It seems hard to believe how much progress has been made in that time. It hasn't always gone quickly, but as we look back, I really have come a long way.

I've made it through my first week and a half back at work. I'm still working half days, but I've accomplished a few things in that time and it feels very good to get some work sent out of the office. I had a full day of therapy today, and boy can I feel it. We worked hard on restoring movement in my left arm during occupational therapy and saw some positive things. There was a little more movement than in recent days. That was encouraging and certainly makes the hard work seem worthwhile. I even got to make a few of what the therapist called my "Arnold"poses. Now I just need to get some muscles to go with those poses. He also used the e-stim unit and got some movement out of the shoulder that was new. For those of you who have followed the blog all along, I spent some time working on all fours and did without any "incidents" like the last time we worked on that in Waco.

In physical therapy today, we worked a lot on balance. There is still some work to do there, but I should be ready for a round of Wii Fit any day now! We also got the go-ahead to buy a single-point cane. That would bring us one step closer to walking completely on my own. I also consider that to be very encouraging.

We go to the neurologist tomorrow and hopefully we might get a few answers as to a cause. That will be the first of several doctors appointments coming up in the next few weeks.

As I look back over the last two months, in some ways it seems to have flown by. But in other ways, the stroke seems to have happened years ago. Not knowing what to expect going into this "adventure" has made it difficult to gauge progress. But I do know that I am encouraged by what we've accomplished and I certainly feel more independent. The therapists and doctors all know that we want and expect a full recovery and it is nice to all be on the same page, working to that end. Thanks again for your support, this has definitely been a team effort.

I've just about run out of things to say, and I couldn't talk Brenda into taking over. I'll get her back on line with her take on things soon. Take care and thanks for reading!

1 comment:

  1. Hi Jon:

    I've been looking in at the blog daily to check on you.....glad to hear that you are working so hard. I'm sure that being at work helps, too, especially because you are putting out some articles.

    As far as the therapy is concerned, the more you put in it the more you will get out of it. They said the arm/hand would be the last to come back but it sounds as though you are tackling the problem head on.

    Mark and I continue to pray for you and think of you every day.

    May God continue to bless you.

    Love,
    Ellen

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